The queen of soul, Aretha Franklin, wasn’t singing about managers in her song Respect. But the lyrics, “You need me and I need you,” can clearly be applied to management. How so you ask?

Managers need their employees.

We need our employees to do their jobs and to be innovative and motivated. The employees need to be motivated and that’s where the employees need the manager. Managers need to motivate their employees.

Respect works in motivating employees. I respect my employees, and I trust that they are excellent at their work and will produce superior results. Because my employees know this, they strive to do a great job and be innovative, often motivated to kick ass and take names.

So try a little respect.